HAINES CITY, Fla. — Haines City is working to revive a once robust business district.
An effort to breathe new life into Haines City’s historic Oakland neighborhood is gaining momentum.
WATCH: Haines City seeks community input to revive Oakland business district
Noel Marsh remembers when the area along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way was a bustling Black business district. He said that is no longer the case.
“Anything that brings business back here would be a plus in this area, because there is nothing going on in this community, as far as business-wise,” said Marsh.
For decades, the Northeast district was home to restaurants, grocery stores and even a movie theater. Now, only one business remains in the seven-block stretch.
“There is no place in that Northeast Oakland community to even walk and get a newspaper or a cup of coffee. They have to take an Uber across town,” said Morris West, mayor of Haines City.
West told me that is why restoring the Oakland business district is so important.
The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has been discussing those plans for several years. The CRA’s first step is the proposed demolition of a former walk-in bar.
“A gathering place back then for a lot of the citrus workers. After getting off work, they would go and convene at that bar and just relax. It was a place of refuge for them to go meet and gather,” West said.
The CRA’s plans for the historic bar include building retail space downstairs with apartments on the upper level. The city is asking the community to help shape what comes next.
“More restaurants, bars and haircut parlors,” said Marsh.
Neighbors are encouraged to attend the CRA’s upcoming meeting and share their ideas.
The meeting is happening on Feb. 5 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
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